One
of the main ingredients in a juice and smoothie bar is fruit
juice. More than likely the fruit juice used is made from frozen
or bag-in-the-box concentrates. The type of concentrate used
dictates the kind of delivery system used. For frozen concentrates,
the "Jet Spray Brand" fountain dispenser is very popular.
For the bag-in-the-box concentrate, standard soft drink fountains
are primarily used. It is important to note that the equipment
for bag-in-the-box has improved over the past few years. For
example, one of the problems with early dispensers was that
the valve plunger would stick because a berry seed had wedged
between the rim of the valve plunger and the side of the cylinder.
This has been remedied by better filtration and changing the
dimensions of the valve mechanisms to accommodate juice concentrate
products and the seeds that they sometimes contain.
Juice concentrates that
are used in juice and smoothie bars are manufactured using a
variety of different equipment and processes. Seeing a nice
container or package congers up the image of a clean stainless
steel packaging line. Therefore, one would assume that the way
concentrates are mixed and packaged is hi-tech. This is not
necessarily the case.
I have seen a local juice
mixing and packaging operation simply pore concentrated juice
into a very large mixing about 5 feet tall, with a diameter
of about 8 feet. The different juice concentrates are pored,
and mixed with a large paddle, then, literally poured into polybags
for a bag-in-the-box product. If you are shopping for a supplier,
be sure to ask them what the process is, or better yet, ask
to see the process at the factory.
Some juices contain just
what the label says on the container, such as raspberry, boysenberry,
or apple. However, others are made with a variety of ingredients
in order to get a specific flavor with the final goal being
a sweet and tart satisfying taste. For example, there is no
such thing as cranberry juice. It doesn't exist until water
and sweeteners are added to make it "juice".
Industry sources say that
the juices of many fruits are too sour and acidic to taste good
by themselves. In many instances, juice concentrates are used
for adding sweetening and to balance the tartness of the fruit
juice. Furthermore, these blends are created to bring out the
flavors of other fruit juice tastes in the "blend".
Other ingredients and natural
flavors are often added to the formula to achieve the ideal
juice blend or juice concentrate.
Concentrates are used because,
in general, fruits are needed when they are out of season. Brazil
ships juice concentrates, and many tropical fruits, all over
the world. It is the only economically feasible way to achieve
economies of scale. Juice concentrates are what allow juice
and smoothie bar owners to offer a product at a fair price and
still maintain a profit.
White grape juice is used
to, sweeten, intensify, and level out the flavor of many fruit
juices and concentrates. White grape juice is often used in
juice concentrate blends as a sweetener in order to retain a
legal juice specification under FDA regulations. Although white
grape juice is less expensive than some other juices, it is
still much more expensive than corn syrup. Corn syrup is the
sweetener of choice in mass-market juices and has little nutritional
value. White grape juice provides a variety vitamins including
A, C and E.
Some manufactures have been
known to process white grape juice to remove the flavor and
nutrients. The result is basically sugar water. These manufacturers
may make the claim that their product is 100 percent juice.
However, the product may no longer qualify as a fruit juice
under FDA regulations. This processed juice allows these manufacturers
to reduce costs by using poor quality, low-cost fruit juice
concentrates as sweeteners.
Mass-market juice products
in general contain refined sugars and preservatives and other
chemically derived substances, yet still qualify as natural
flavors according to FDA definitions.
Many juice concentrate suppliers
will promote their products as natural. However, a closer look
will reveal that the products are really sweetened with refined
sugar, or have other legally approved "natural" ingredients.
The basic premise is, "If it tastes good, it must be good
for you."
"Natural flavors"
depict ingredients that provide intensification to the main
flavors in fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. Natural
flavors can increase the impression of the fruit juice integrity
and overall taste by enhancing what is already there. Just like
spices bring out the tastes in other foods. However, the term
"natural flavors" can mean something else entirely
- Chemicals!
Therefore, use discretion
when choosing your smoothie ingredients. For juice blends and
juice concentrates, ask questions about how the products are
manufactured and where the ingredients come from. What kind
o type of sweetener is being used? Corn syrup? White Grape juice?
Or, some other "natural" sweetener.